The special operations executive in Burma : jungle warfare and intelligence gathering in World War II

"In the mountains and jungles of occupied Burma during World War II, British special forces launched a series of secret operations, assisted by parts of the Burmese population. The men of the SOE, trained in sabotage and guerrilla warfare, worked in the jungle, deep behind enemy lines, to frustrate the puppet Burmese government of Ba Maw and continue the fight against Hirohito's Japan in a theatre starved of resources. Here, Richard Duckett uses newly declassified documents from the National Archives to reveal for the first time the extent of British special forces' involvement - from the 1941 operations until beyond Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1948. Duckett argues convincingly that 'Operation Character' and 'Operation Billet' - large SOE missions launched in support of General Slim's XIV Army offensive to liberate Burma - rank among the most militarily significant of the SOE's secret missions. Featuring a wealth of photographs and accompanying material never before published, including direct testimony recorded by veterans of the campaign and maps from the SOE files, The SOE in Burma tells a compelling story of courage and struggle in during World War II."-- Provided by publisher Cover Title Copyright Dedication Contents Note on Translation and Transliteration Abbreviations List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Timeline of the War in Burma Introduction The Special Operations Executive in Burma, 1941 – 5 Literature Review The SOE in Burma: The Military Debate The SOE in Burma: The Political Debate Prologue: Burma, its Geography and its People 1. The Oriental Mission, October 1940 – December 1941 FEM: Aims and Intentions Establishment of FEM in Singapore Civil and Military Obstruction The Oriental Mission and Burma Conclusions 2. The Oriental Mission and the First Burma Campaign, December 1941–June 1942 Planning Command and Control The ‘Left-Behind’ Scheme The Recruitment of Burmese The Oriental Mission and Levy Operations Tenasserim: Captain Alfred Ottaway MM Karenni: Major Seagrim The Southern Shan States: Captains Noel Boyt and Arthur Thompson Kachin State: Lieutenant Colonel Stevenson Conclusions 3. Reorganisation and Early Operations, August 1942–August 1943 Reorganisation Infrastructure: Training, Personnel, Supply The Office of Strategic Services First Operations Conclusions 4. Getting Behind the Lines: The India Mission in Burma, September 1943–December 1944 Growth of Infrastructure Operation Dilwyn: the Kachin Hills Operation Spiers: Kokang and the Northern Shan States Operation Hainton: Kengtung and the Southern Shan States Operation Harlington: the Karen Hills P Force: the Chindwin River Area Operation Billet: Arakan and Central and Southern Burma Conclusions 5. Operation Character, November 1944–September 1945 Personnel and Mission Objectives Introduction of European Personnel, Training and Briefing Operations, February – May 1945 Character under Pressure, May – July 1945 The Japanese Breakout, July – September 1945 Conclusions 6. The Billet Operations: Nation, Manual and Grain, November 1944–September 1945 Battles ‘at Home’: Manual Force 136 and CAS(B), September 1944 to February 1945 The Burmese Leadership Billet Operations in Central and Southern Burma: Grain and Nation Working with the AFO and BNA Conclusions Epilogue: A Legacy? Force 136 and Postwar Burma, 1945–50 From Victory over Japan to Panglong, 1945 – 7 From Panglong to Assassination ‘Renegade SOE’ Conclusions Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index In the mountains of occupied Burma during World War II, British special forces launched a series of secret operations, assisted by the native 'Karen' people. The men of the SOE, trained in sabotage and 'guerrilla' techniques, worked in the jungle, deep behind enemy lines, to obstruct the puppet Burmese government run by Ba Maw at the behest of Emperor Hirohito's Japan. Here, Richard Duckett uses newly declassified documents from the National Archives to reveal for the first time the extent of British special forces' involvement - from the 1941 operation until well beyond Burma's independence from the British Empire in 1948. Duckett argues convincingly that 'Operation Harlington' - the guerrilla campaign to liberate Burma - ranks amongst the most important of the SOE's secret missions. Featuring a wealth of photographs and accompanying material never before published, including direct testimony recorded by veterans of the campaign, detailed maps of covert operations and photographs of the officers involved, The SOE in Burma tells a compelling story of courage and of struggle in the last years of the Second World War.